Street or road snowplow



F. BRUEGGEMAN.

STREET OR ROAD SNOWPLOW. APPLJCATION FILED 050.22, 1919.

1 ,334, 5 1 6 v Patented Mar. 23,1920.

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F. BRUEGGEMAN. v STREET OR ROAD SNOWPLOW.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. 22, 1919.

' Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

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[Fun/1' Era eg em F. BHUEGGEMAN.

STREET OR ROAD SNOWPLOW- APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, I919.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

gem g UNITED s'rA'rEs PATENT omen.

FBAN K BRUEGGEMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOISdASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD 'IO HARRY S. RICHARDS, 0NE-SIXTH TO HERMAN P. ANDRESEN, AND ONE-SIXTH T0 EDWARD W. H. ANDRESEN, ALL OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STREET 0R ROAD SNOWPLOW.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Application filed December 22, 1919. Serial No. 346,484.

guished from railroads; and relates more particularly to machine plows, as distinguished from simple push or wing plows, or scrapers.

The, general, object of my invention is to provide a. device which can be successfully operated upon a road or highway, and which shall be capable of removing the snow entirely from the road; of placing it in wagons or other vehicles for removal to, distant points; or of banking it along a desired strip or zone.

Again, it is an object of my invention to provide a'device which shall be capable of removing drifts or banks of snow (which may have been formed, naturally, by the elements, or artificially, by road workmen or road scrapers) of such magnitude asto baffle removal or displacement by road plows or scrapers, heretofore devised.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a. device for the removal of snow from roads or highways which shall embody therein, as a co-acting part, an automotive road vehicle, and which shall be of such construction that the component parts shall be readily separable to permit use of the road vehicle for any purpose desired, and to enable conversion, quickly and easily, even by unskilled workmen, of the automotive road vehicle into a machine. snow plow when de, sired.

4 I aim also to provide an apparatus of the character described which, shall be easily controllable, by operation, from the seat of the automotive vehicle, in a position where accurate steering ofthe automotive vehicle and manipulation of the snow removing mechanism can be effected. i

My invention consists, generally, in the form, arrangement, construction and cooperation of the parts, whereby the above named objects, together with others that will appear hereinafter, are attainable; and my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate what I consider, at the present time, to be the preferred embodiment thereof.

In said drawin s: V

-Figure 1, is a slde elevation of apparatus embodying my invention, part of the front wheel of the automotive vehicle being broken away better to disclose certain of the parts.

Fig. 2, is a view substantially'along the line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3, is a front elevation of the apparatus.

As stated in the opening of the specification, one of the objects, of my invention is to utilize an automotive vehicle, as acom- There are many sections of the country where snow removal from roads or highways is necessary but a. few times during the winter, and, sometimes, at. intervals considerably apart. However, when a heavy snowfall does occur, it is vital, particularly in ponent part of the snow removal apparatus large cities, that the snow be quickly cleared from the streets, ortrafiic is slowed up to such an extent as to result In great economic loss. In the larger clties, it IS not only necessary to clear the streets from snow, but it is,

also necessary, inmany instances, to cart the snow to distant points for disposal.

Because of the peculiar elements that enter into the removal of snow from streets or roads; to wit, operation during but a short period of the year, and then, possibly, only a fewtimes at spaced intervals, suitable apparatus has not been devised, and, as a re sult, this operation is conducted in a slow, laborious and costly manner. Nearly every 7 city or community has, as a part of its road equipment, a motor truck, which, because of its general utilitarian character, is usable throughout the year for many purposes. Very few communities or cities have, at their disposal, adequate snow removing facilities because of the excessive cost of maihtaining such equipment for a short period of yearly use.

I havesolved this diflicult snow handling problem by providing apparatus which utilizes, or may utilize a standard automotive truck as one of the component elements of the apparatus, and, by so constructing the to permit independent use of the automotive truck. Because of the ease'with which the" parts can be assembled and disassembled, it

is entirely feasible to assemble them eriodically for snow removal purposes, an in the meantime, to disassemble them to permit independent use of the automotive truck, thus obviating the necessity of purchasing expensive equipment to remain idle practically all of the time.

Referring now to the drawings, 2, represents' the frame of a. motor truck at the forward end of which, under the hood 3, is

mounted an engine for propelling truck through the medium of a drive shift (not shown) and the chains 4, which impart motion to the rear or driving wheels 5. The

1 front wheels 6, in the present instance, are

merely the steering wheels, being guided by means of the usual steering wheel 7. It should be understood that the motor truck described is simply by Way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, for motor trucks of other designsmay be employed,-

and they may be either of the "two wheel drive type, here shown, or of the four wheel drive, or other type. The controls forthe motor truck are the spark advance lever 8; the throttle lever 9; the gear shift lever 10;

the emergency brake lever 11; the clutch pedal 12; and the brake pedal 13, ;.all of which are arranged for convenient opera- -tion from the seat 14. The front wheels 6,

are mounted in the usual manner for swinging movement and are cross connected by the front axle 15, which, in the present instance, isof I-shaped cross-section.

At the forward end of the motor truck, I mount the snow handling mechanism. As

here shown, this comprises a hoodlike structure composed of front andback plates 16 and 17, respectively, and which are connected and held in desired spaced relation by the end plates 18 and 19. As here shown, the front and rear plates 16 and-17 are of substantially triangular form, thus forming with-the end plates, a hollow hood having a constricted upper end which, in the present instance, is surmounted by an apron 20, upon which a. spout 21 is mounted for rotation.

I The .front'plate 16 of the hood terminates at a point somewhat above the bottom plate 22, thus providing a somewhat rectangular shaped opening, which, in the present instance, is divided centrally into two chambers 23 and 24, respectively, by the partition plate or wall 25, which wallalso serves to strengthen or rigidify the hood structure. The wall 25 terminates at a point considerably below the top of thehood so that but one chamber is formed at that place. In other words the two chambers 23 and 24 of the vehicle.

- hood.

In the chambers 23 and 24. I mount elements 26 and 27 for rotation upon shafts 2G and 29, which shafts are journaled at one end' in brackets or bearings 30 andv 31, depending from the cross member 32 of the hood structure. The inner ends of the shafts or journals 28' and 29 are mounted in and extend through the bearings 33 and 34, respectively, which, in turn, are supported upon the cross rigidifying angle member Upon each of the elements 26 and 27, a plurality of bucket-like blades or elements 26 and 27, respectively, are mounted. These may vary considerably in size, shape and arrangement, and the elements 26 and 27 with the blades carried thereby are essentially only centrifugal devices which, when rotated at high speed, by centrifugal force, violently dispel the snow outwardly.

In operation, a large amount of power is required to drive the elements 26 and 27, and, while this may vary in accordance with the work to be performed, I have found, in use, that, for ordinary road work, an engine of) ninety to one hundred horsepower is suita le.

An internal combustion engine 36, is provided, in the present instance, for rotating the elements 26 and 27. Since this is or may be of'usual construction, it will not be described in detail. It may be stated, however, that it is provided with a suitable radiator 37 and a. clutch 38. The engine and its parts are mounted upon a suitable frame 39 which is composed of longitudinal 111G111- bers held rigidly in desired spaced relation by suitable cross members. Forward from the clutch 38 a drive shaft 40 is provided which is rotatably mounted in bearings 41.

-Up standing from the frame 39 will be found .44 a sprocket wheel 46, which in turn, are

operatively connected by means of the silent chain 47. Thus when the shaft 40 is rotated rotation of shaft 44 results. For the purpose of connecting and disconnectin the clutch a hand lever 48, is provided, whlch is brought into close proximity to the seat 14 Operation of the clutch is effected by rocking the shaft 49 and thereby moving the yoke 50 and clutch collar 51. A lever 52 "is mounted adjacent the seat and, through the medium of the rod 53, controls the throttle, and a lever 54 is provided, convenient to the seat 14, and, which, through the medium of the rod 55, controls the timing of the spark. Thus all of the controls for the engine, 36, are so' arranged that the of the shaft 44; universal joints 57 and 59; shaft 56 sprocket Wheels 60 and 61, mounted for rotation with shaft 56; sprocket Wheels 62 and 63, mounted upon the shafts 28 and 29; and chains 66 and 67 connecting the sprockets 60 and 62, and 61 and 63.- By

the mechanism stated, high speed rotation can, be imparted to the elements 26 and 27 The snow handling mechanism, 2'. 6., hood, rotating elements, and attached parts are supported by trailer wheels 68 and 69 which are horizontally journaled, as at 70 and 71, in the bifurcated members 72 and 73 which, in turn, are mounted upon the vertical pivots 7a and 75 carried by the hood frame.

The snow handling apparatus, as a whole, is propelled by the motor truck: and turning movement thereof is effected by turning movement of the motor truck. As the apparatus moves over the road, more or less, vertical movement is imparted to the snow handling apparatus, and in order to prevent injury to the apparatus by strains imposed by such movements of the snow handling apparatus, I secure to the hood frame, transversely and near the bottom a horizontally disposed gusset 76. As shown, this is somewhat triangular in' shape and extends into close proximity to the front axle 15 of the motor truck.

Vertical reinforcement is effected by means of the vertically disposed, spaced gussets 77 and 78 which are riveted or otherwise fastened to the gusset 7 6 and frame or hood back plate 17. Secured to the gussets 76, 77 and 78 and rearwardly extending therefrom will be found angle members 79 and 80 which terminate in close progrimity to the front axle. These are connected to the axle by means of the blocks 81 and 8.2, each composed of separable parts secured to the axle by bolts 83, and the horizontal pivot members 84 and 85, respectively. I have termed the members 79 and 80, propelling members, and, it will be observed, that the connection is an articulated one, permit.

ting rising and falling movement of the snow handling mechanism. There are a few additional control parts yet to be described, but these will be sufiiciently understood by the brief mention thereof in the following description of the operation.

Operation: Two men are sufiicient to operate the entire apparatus and both occupy the seat 14. The motor truck is operated be effected.

and steered by one man and the snow handling mechanism, and its motor, is operated by the other. Assuming the truck to be at a point remote from theplace of operation the entire snow handling mechanism may be raised clear of the ground by means of the hand rod 86, worm Wheel. and sector 87,

cross shaft 88,.arms 89 and 90 and the depending chains 91 and 92 which connect the vertical gussets 77 and 78 and the-arms 89 and 90. The truck can then be operated at desired speed to the point of operation, at which place reverse movement of the hand rod 86 permits the snow handling mechanism to drop by gravity until it is supported by engagement of the trailer wheels. 68 and 69 with the ground. The engine 36 may now be started and at the desired time or eratively connected, by means of the clutch, to rotate elements 26 and 27 at very high speed. As the motor truck moves forward, the snow handling mechanism is likewise propelled forwardly and any snow that may e in the path thereof is pressed or crowded into the chambers 23 and 24 at which time it is brought into en agement with the blades 26 and 27 of t e rotating elements 26 and 27 and is thereby thrown violently outwardly and upvvardly, the snow from the two elements merging in the upper part of the hood and finally being discharged through the spout 21. The spout 21 may be positioned to dischargfe tlie snow in either direction and movement thereof is controlled by means of the hand rod 100 carrying the pinion 101 at one end which, in turn, meshes with the gear 102 carried by the spout 21. By turning thespout 21 in one direction, the snow obviously can be discharged in that direction, and by reversing,

it, discharge in the opposite direction, may Forsnow removal in certain parts of large cities it is necessary to cart the snow to distant points for disposal and my apparatus is designed to discharge the snow directly into the wagons or cartage vehicles, and sincethese may differ in height or in spaced relation to the snow handling mechanism, I provide means for accurately guiding the discharging snow into the cartage vehicle. This guiding means, hereinafter termed a deflector, is a hood-like member 103, which is pivoted at 104 to the upper end of the spout 21. its position may be changed by means of the double cable 105, the ends, of which. are secured to spaced points of the deflector, as indicated at 106 and 107, and at one point the cable is wrapped around and secured to a wheel 10%,

'partialrotation of which can be effected by 1 means of a hand lever 109. When the hand lever 109 is moved in one direction the defeature enables very accurate placing of the discharging snow stream.

Asthe apparatus moves forwardly, the

snowhandling mechanism rises or falls to a greater or lesser extent, depending upon the character of the road and occasioned by the trailer wheels 68 and 69, rolling over the road surface. the propelling means, and the universally jointed construction of the drive shaft makes this movement possible without injury .to the mechanism. By mountingthe engine "36 over the rear or-driving wheels of the truck, sufficient traction is secured to propel the snow handling mechanism and to overcome the snow reslstance in such manner as to gulde the snow into the chambers 23 'and 24.

For snow removal under certain conditions, ordinary road scraper mechanism may be employed to bank the snow along one side of the street and the apparatus herein disclosed may be then employed, simply to remove this bank of snow, either by discharging it along a zone bordering the street or into the cartage vehicles, as before described.-

With the apparatus herein disclosed, the snow may be very rapidly removed from the road at.a cost far less than that prevailing heretofore. The engine and its parts, being mounted upon the frame 39, can be conveniently removed as a unit from the truck frame." The disconnection of a few bolts permits removal of the snow han dling mechanism, so that the .truck then becomes available for any other use that may be desiredn Because of this ease of disassembl and assembly, the motor truck may be, i so desired, available for other use except only during the actual time required for snow removal purposes; The apparatus is simple in construction and opera- I 131011, and is of durable construction, and 1s The articulated character of of such character as will admit of operation by any person capable of driving a motor vehicle.

Inasmuch as this disclosure will readily suggest to others modified constructions whereby these substantial objects and purposes of my invention may be attained I do not wislrto be limited to the specific construction and arrangement, herein shown and described, except onlyas may be necessary by limitations in the hereunto appended claims.

I claim:

1. Snow removal apparatus adapted for road travel embodying therein an automotive road vehicle, snow handling mechanism positioned adjacent thereto, an articulate propelling connection joining the road vehicle and the snow handling mechanism, a motor mounted on the road vehicle for operating the snow handling mechanism, and universally jointed driving means operatively connecting the motor and snow handling mechanism.

2. Snow removal apparatus for road travel embodying therein a road vehicle having a motor mounted thereon and connected FRANK BRUEGGEMAN. 

